Alabama pro Jordan Lee is no stranger to success in big events during his young career. With MLF, he's won multiple events as well as an Angler of the Year award. As REDCREST approaches, he's getting ready for another big tournament and has an idea of what to expect on Grand Lake from previous trips to the Oklahoma lake.
Mixed Results on Grand Lake
Lee has been to the site of this year's REDCREST twice, once for a Bassmaster Classic and another time for a regular season tournament. He's done well and poorly here and expects a solid pre-spawn bite when the anglers get there.
"I had a Top 10 there in an Elite event and my Classic there was not good at all," said Lee. "I've never been there this exact time of year, but I believe the fish should be all pre-spawn. The one time I was there in April, it was still pretty cold that spring, and I think this trip will be a similar bite with water in the 50s and fish feeding up to spawn."
As marine electronics technology has improved over the past several seasons, Lee sees it as one of the biggest wildcards of this event.
"This will be the first time we are all there with forward-facing sonar, and I'm sure it will be a factor," he said. "It will be interesting to see how it plays out for the deeper guys, but here should also be a good bite right on the bank."
Lee's Grand Lake Approach
Grand Lake is a quality fishery with dirty water up the rivers and it gets progressively cleaner closer to the dam. This opens up a world of different possible techniques for the anglers and each of them will likely gravitate to their comfort zones. Lee likes to stick somewhere in the middle in terms of water clarity.
"I usually stick to the middle section of the lake because that's where most of the tournaments are won," he said. "I like the water color in that section of the lake and there is so much good cover, including docks, which I love to fish. It makes it easy to fish around and behind guys because there are so many targets to hit."
Lee plans to keep things simple with proven springtime lures, including jerkbaits, jigs, and spinnerbaits.
"I'll try to figure out what the fish are relating to and what stage they are in when I get there for practice," said Lee. "Those three baits styles play everywhere in March and one of those will probably be the winning bait at REDCREST."
For jerkbaits, Lee likes the Berkley Stunna 112 and fishes it on his signature series rod 6'8" medium Abu Garcia rod with a 6.4:1 Abu Garcia Revo AL-F reel with 10-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon.
"I made that rod 6'8" specifically for jerkbaits," he said. "I wanted to go 6'6" at first, but the extra two inches gives you a lot more control fish, especially big ones. It's a good manageable size where you can jerk downward and not slap the water with your rod tip."
For spinnerbaits, he plans to fish them around the ample targets on Grand Lake, including docks, rocks, and any wood he can find.
"I like my 6'10" heavy "Dock Skipping" rod for spinnerbaits and you can put it in tight spots with that shorter rod," he said. Lee fishes these baits on his 6.4:1 Abu Garcia Jordan Lee reel with 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon.
When fishing jigs, Lee plans to use a variety on Grand Lake and admits that he carries an ample selection of them everywhere he goes.
"I have like eight jig boxes and will rotate through them, but it's typically 3/8 and ½-ounce jigs for me," he said. "At REDCREST, I think a finesse jig and pitching jig will be the best. I'm thinking black and blue and maybe a brown one will be the way to go."
Lee fishes his jigs on a 7'2" medium heavy Abu Garcia "Swim Jig-Jig" rod with his signature series reel in the 7.1:1 gear ratio and 15 to 17-pound Berkley Trilene 100% fluorocarbon.
Lee is proud of the rods that bear his name and uses them for all of his fishing. "I've been excited with how well the rods have performed," he said. "They are at a price that anglers of all levels can afford ($99.95) and they are a good quality that I can use and be proud of."
Jordan Lee looks to add another championship to his resume at REDCREST 2022 and he's planning to keep it simple and fish what works everywhere this time of year: jigs, spinnerbaits, and a jerkbait.
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